PROVIDED NOTICE THAT FINGER LAKES RAILWAY CORP., FILED A NOTICE OF EXEMPTION TO SUBLEASE FROM SENECA COUNTY INDUSTIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY AND OPERATE APPROXIMATELY 26.44 MILES OF RAILROAD LOCATED IN NEW YORK.

Finger Lakes Railway Corp. (FGLK), a
Class III rail carrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49
C.F.R. § 1150.41 to sublease from Seneca County Industrial Development Agency
(Agency), and operate, approximately 26.44 miles of railroad located in New
York as follows:(1) Auburn Secondary,
between milepost 37.56 at the Seneca/Cayuga County line and milepost 50.50 at
or near Geneva, a distance of 12.94 miles; and (2) Geneva Running Track,
between milepost 342.80 at the Ontario/Seneca County line and milepost 329.30
at or near Kendaia, a distance of 13.50 miles.[1]The Agency and FGLK state that the Agency
currently owns the rail lines but FGLK is responsible for all railroad
operations over the rail lines.

According to FGLK, the sublease of the rail
lines is part of a series of proposed transactions that will allow FGLK to continue
to pay a negotiated “payment in lieu of taxes” (PILOT) while maintaining the
benefits of being exempt from local and state taxes.FGLK
states that it originally acquired the rail lines in 1995 and transferred title
to the Agency and then leased back the rail lines for purposes of the PILOT
arrangement.FGLK states that to extend
and restructure the PILOT arrangement, the Agency will first transfer title to
the rail lines to FGLK.[2]Then the Agency will lease the rail lines
from FGLK.[3]Lastly, FGLK will sublease the rail lines back
from the Agency to continue operations over them, including all common carrier
service and maintenance of the tracks—the transaction at issue in this docket.

FGLK certifies that the proposed transaction does not include
an interchange commitment.

FGLK states the
transaction will not result in the creation of a Class II or Class I rail
carrier, but that its projected revenues as a result of this transaction would exceed
$5 million. Accordingly, under 49 C.F.R. § 1150.42(e), FGLK
is required, at least 60 days before this exemption is to become effective, to
send notice of the transaction to the national offices of the labor unions with
employees on the affected lines, post a copy of the notice at the workplace of
the employees on the affected lines, and certify to the Board that it has done
so.FGLK, however, has filed a petition
for waiver of this 60-day advance labor notice requirement, asserting that
there will be no changes for employees working on the rail lines because FGLK
already operates the rail lines and will continue to be the sole common carrier
operator of the rail lines. FGLK’s waiver request will be addressed in a
separate decision.

FGLK states that the parties intend to consummate
the transaction no sooner than May
13, 2016, the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the
verified notice was filed), and only after the Board has ruled on the motion to
dismiss in Docket No. FD 36023. The
Board will establish in the decision on the waiver request the earliest date
this transaction can be consummated.

If
the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is
void ab initio.Petitions to revoke the
exemption under 49 U.S.C. § 10502(d) may be filed at any time.The filing of a petition to revoke will not
automatically stay the effectiveness of the exemption.Petitions to stay must be filed no later thanMay 6,2016(at
least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).

An original and ten
copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36024, must be filed
with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, S.W., Washington, DC20423-0001.In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on Eric M. Hocky, Clark
Hill PLC, 2005 Market Street, Suite 1000, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

According to FGLK, this action is
categorically excluded from environmental review under 49 C.F.R. § 1105.6(c).

Board decisions and notices are
available on our website at “WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.”

Decided:April 26, 2016.

By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.

[1] The Agency and
FGLK jointly filed one notice for three related transactions under 49 C.F.R. §§
1150.31 and 1150.41, one in this docket, one in Docket No. FD 36022, and
one in Docket No. FD 36023, as described further below.A separate notice will be published for each
exemption.

[3]The Agency filed a verified notice of
exemption to acquire the rail lines by lease, in Seneca County Industrial
Development Agency—Lease Exemption—Finger Lakes Railway, Docket No. FD 36023.The Agency
also filed a motion to dismiss that notice of exemption on grounds that the
transaction does not require authorization from the Board.That motion will be addressed in a separate
decision.